You are absolutely right. My five year old wood beds are rotting. I tell people its a modified hugleculter plan. When they no longer holding up the soil I'm thinking about just using contractor twine to mark the beds. If I had to do it all over again, it would be concrete blocks. As always, thank you for sharing and God bless.

Brilliant comparison with pros and cons. Thanks so very much!

As the wood chips in your path decompose, they will share earthworms and decomposed organic material (via the earthworms) with your garden soil. Bonus! If you can continue to get more from time to time, you won't have to spend money on more blocks. Dozens of good ideas! Thanks!

I used an old wooden bed frame as my raised bed. Stripped all of the backing and other material off, and it works great!

When I use concrete blocks, I also plan small vegetables like lettuce, baby bok choy, for example in the little square hole of the blocks to gain extra planting area.

I did the flowerbeds against my house with 4x8x8 cinder blocks. It looks ok, but its not a raised bed. I dug them in and used paving leveler with sand to set them so that they won't shift. It was a great idea at first, but way more work than I expected. I also built a huge burn pit out of cinder blocks but toward the end of setting the bricks, I realized they don't line up right. I haven't touched that project in weeks now. I'm probably just going to use 3"×4"×8' garden wood for the rest of my beds.

A beekeeping friend of mine (deceased now) used blocks like yours for her garden beds. She would use the holes in the blocks to grow root vegetables (usually red beats). Might as well use all the space she could. We are all in deer country and this was always an issue. She had a fence up to keep them out. She also had a water source up the hill from her. She used the slope of the hill to power her watering system. Worked great

So i watched this looking for ideas to apply to my garden. I started with cinderblocks i had lying around but ran out and ended up improvising with firewood. I took the top 8 inches of dirt out of my walkways and threw it left and right to make double digging more ergonomic, then once it was all fuffed up before the final shaping and leveling i stacked 16 inch logs and split firewood in the walkways to contain the dirt. It was basically completly free and you can bore holes in the logs to set up your hoops. Im hoping they will help hold and slow release water and eventually when they rot they will make great dirt. Just wanted to share.

Excellent video! I've been thinking about concrete garden beds, but never thought to compare cost vs wood. I was considering pouring concrete to make the sides of the beds, but I definitely can see the advantages to using blocks as well. There is a gentleman that lives about an hour away from me that's done extensive long term testing on a concrete bed design that he developed. He created simple reusable molds using wood, which allows him to case modular panels that are stackable, relatively lightweight and are held in place with pieces of rebar. He recently began selling plastic molds that he had made, but I think he sold out quickly. He has a number of videos on KZfaq explaining how to make them. If you search for "MAN about TOOLS" his channel should come up.

Sage advice!!! Great video! Thanks.

That's a good alternative to consider. One other consideration if you are working in a tighter garden space is the extra width the blocks take versus a sheet of wood. I expanded my garden the last couple years outside my fence and used logs that we have an abundance of behind our yard from old trees that have come down and that was a great free alternative for me but using them inside my garden to replace my boxes would either reduce the width of my bed or my walkways in between which would not be good. Your videos are good. I just subscribed and looking forward to more.

Such a logical decision. Wish I could change mine to blocks...

Wife and I have recently started to do this as well. Currently just one, however we did ours two levels high since we have a ton of roots and very acidic soil. Did the classic branches and compose layers, then some well seasoned mushroom compost. This first one, interestingly, got overrun with cucumber volunteers :D

Thank you for this, we are going to do it! For some reason we never thought of using concrete blocks, and I've resisted building the raised beds my wife wants because I know the wood will rot in a few years and can't be easily reconfigured. Oh and I'm dying to know what zoning rules control where you can plant your potatoes...?

Had wooden 4x4s, they usually lasted 4 years. Switched to cinder blocks, which last forever. And they stack without mortar. Used for vegetable garden and flower beds. Also used them to construct compost bins. Yes, it's a little more involved (strenuous) but well worth the effort. And you can do it in stages. Was surprised you didn't make the corners sharp. But, you probably weren't interested in going higher.

I have a bed that I made 8 years ago and filled the blocks with soil for stability. I live in Iowa with -10 F winters and have had no blocks break. However freezing does seem to make them more brittle and in another application where I was using them to hold down plastic and moving them daily they shattered while frozen and unfilled.

Thank You! I have been contemplating raised beds with wood vs. concrete blocks. I am further convinced that concrete blocks are the way to go for me. Chuck in Florida. Thinking sbout 2 blocks tall for me.

Nice build and thanks for sharing? Where are you located? Your plants growing need attention.

My grandsons just built me a 10x3.5 planter box 30 inches high. We have gopher issues. I have back issues, this will help with both as I layered wire and cardboard then tree limbs under soil. I have to put steaks or rebar to stabilize block. Then add soil, but it will last my lifetime. I will slowly add more raised beds as time goes on.

I started with a wood construction for a raised bed and quickly moved to the cement block. I have relocated and am in the process of building new raised beds with cement block now. I have plenty of wood debris to use for fill.

Loved your video! So many great ideas! We're putting together our 1st raised beds with 2-high concrete blocks which will last the rest of our lives!! Hard work by my Hubby & Granddaughter! Love the trellises for squashes and wire ideas to block gophers etc. Planning on Hügelkultur fill for the 1st time too. I've read that the block holds heat that increases the heat of the soil - how does that effect the plants? Thanks again for the great channel.

Love your channel. Do the beds not need to be deeper? I’m not new to gardening, but wanting to try raised beds.

Have you considered laying the center row of blocks on their sides so 1- easier to walk on, and 2- won't get weeds growing up the middle where nothing is planted? Great job - no good project that lasts is done as fast or easy as other options!

Nope I really am just beginning and I already have a small 12 block laid down and being leveled right now. I just have to try those cubby holes for flowers and herbs and trellis or hoops. I have tons of compost from years and years of compost building in anticipation of gardening in retirement. I am officially retired and I go at my own pace putter putter putter. I really don't know my land that well with all the trees and hedges and neighboring buildings so modularity and repurposing potential is key for me.

In my old area of garden the wood rotted and I used blocks. In the new area I'm using wood and will convert to blocks as I go along. But I only make my beds 4x8 or 4x10 so it's not that hard to replace over time.

Couldn’t you also have used a single column of cement block in the, in the center of each bed, butt turned 90° as a cost saver? You could still use the PVC in the same hole as the other side. If that makes sense?

it's $23 for one 10ft board of cedar. Wood is like 20x more expensive than the concrete block version.

I might have missed it, but could you explain how/why you decided to create a passage in the middle of the bed? And did you increase the width of the beds to compensate for the space?

I disagree with using for beginning gardening. When I started my garden I looked for different materials to build. I knew I was going to start out small and eventually increase the size of, so I wanted something that was flexible. I took cement blocks and leave them right on the grass I put cardboard on top of that and leaves the fall before. Over the years I've added more blocks until the size garden that I.

The other factor I think of is bumping ankles or shins against a hard concrete block edge or corner (or in the case of wood, any metal fasteners on the outside; or splinters). Cost wise: the wood bed lifetime of ?5 years vs block of ?decades?

Very nice! Any thoughts on chemicals (lime, in particular) leaching out of the cinderblocks, and how to mitigate that? I'm just trying to plan ahead before I get started. =^[.]^=

Why people would do either is beyond me assuming they don’t have an excess water problem. I finally ripped out the last of my hard sided raised beds and things have never been easier or better. Open top blocks are the worst!

You shouldn’t use pressure treated lumber in beds that you are growing food in as it leaches chemicals into your food supply. Untreated hemlock or cedar is the best option but more expensive.

Seriously, how many people are you planning to feed with that much planting space?

woood is sooo expensive

How my godfather those blocks are disgusting.